Mitt Romney -- Serious contender?

I was listening to Hugh Hewitt yesterday and he mentioned this weekly standard article which raises the question, "Could Mitt Romney, an extremely successful republican governer, with a solid history of moral character, amazing leadership qualities, and above average fiscal management ability be elected President of the United States even though he is LDS?"

Political Fan weighs in on the subject with this conclusion:

I admire Chuck Colson and believe that he sees in Mitt Romney what many see in President Bush. He sees a man of faith who has character and is a social conservative on most of the issues that are important to evangelicals. I believe that many evangelicals will choose a candidate on the basis of character and social agenda. Too many people now know that the social war rages on and to eliminate a well-qualified candidate on the basis of some small theological issue that will never be an issue as president, is a self-inflicted wound.

Especially important to America's next president will be economic and tax policy. This country under the current president has gone into a fast downward spiral as spending rises out of control leaving us with a huge budget deficit. I won't say it's the largest ever because while I can't any hard figures at the moment, I know it isn't, particularly when adjusted for inflation. Does anyone know what the exact figures are? In any case, Romney has proven himself in two instances that I'm going to mention here:

Romney took charge of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, turning a disaster into a smashing success. From Terry Eastland's column,

In 1999 the event already was $379 million in debt, and there were allegations of bribery involving top officials. Romney was asked to head up the games. Under his leadership, they turned into a spectacular success, clearing a profit of $100 million.

After this was accomplished, Romney ran for (and was elected) governer of Massachusetts, which anyone knows is one of THE MOST liberal, democratic states in the union. John Kerry and Ted Kennedy, #1 and #2 liberal senators have both been re-elected to their senate seats in that state for several elections running. And yet Romney's superior leadership and unconquerable financial discipline made possible his republican administration there.

Some republicans or evangelicals might balk at statements that Romney is pro-choice. It's not that simple...Romney is a social conservative on every issue. He belives that abortion should be "safe, legal and [most importantly] rare" It is irresponsible to say in black and white terms that abortion is right or wrong. I would ask those people, have they ever told an 11-year old victim of sexual assault that she must carry her baby to term? But this is beside the point. Romney is NOT pro-choice in the traditional sense of the word. He is pro-life and pro-family.